Standards Committee

The Standards Committee is responsible for recommending rule changes to the BSB in respect of the Code of Conduct. Further, the Committee issues guidance in relation to the Code and has a significant role in developing policy in respect of professional standards and training.

Terms of reference

Membership

Major Committee Initiatives

Review of the Code of Conduct

In 2007 the Committee commenced a major review of the Code of Conduct to ensure that the provisions properly reflect current practice at the Bar, are not anti-competitive and do not amount to restrictive practice.

In June 2007, the Committee issued a consultation paper seeking views on the scope and priorities of the reivew.

In the light of the responses received the Committee is developing a programme of work for the review. Work has started however in two key areas:

The implications for the regulation of the Bar of England and Wales in the light of the Legal Services Act 2007and the introduction of Alternative Business Structures;
The development of core principles.

Alternative Business Structures

The Legal Services Act 2007 establishes a new regime for the provision of legal services. The Act creates a regulatory framework in which lawyers of different kinds can form joint businesses and allows non-lawyers to be managers or investors. An Alternative Business Structure (ABS) is defined in the Act as a body in which one or more of the owners or managers is entitled to provide legal services and one or more of the others is not.

At present there are restrictions on the types of business structures through which legal services may be provided. For example, the Code of Conduct forbids barristers from supplying legal services to the public through any body such as a partnership (except in the case of barristers employed by solicitors, who may provide legal services to the firm’s clients).

As part of the review of the Code, the Standards Committee has been considering how to respond to the new business and regulatory regime to be set up under the Act and in particular whether and how barrister should be allowed to practise in the proposed new ABSs and Legal Disciplinary Practices (LDPs) and has recently issued a consultation paper inviting views.

Development of core principles

In the light of the responses to the initial consultation paper, the Committee has decided that the Code of Conduct should adopt a core principle format. Under this format, core principles of professional standards at the Bar will be developed. These principles will be supplemented by secondary rules and guidance.

The Committee has established a working group to take forward work in this area.

The terms of reference of the group are:

"To revise the Code of Conduct for the Bar in a way which sets out the qualities, values, characteristics and duties of a barrister. That part of the Code will embody the standards of barristers’ professionalism and form the basis for the regulation of the profession"

Updates on progress and details of public consultations will be provided on this page.

Chambers Complaints Handling

At its meeting on 17th March, the Board approved a range of measures to improve the standards and consistency of complaints handling by Chambers. The Committee issued a consultation paper in September 2007 on the practical implementation of arrangements to strengthen the complaints handling requirements placed on Chambers.

The new arrangements include:

The introduction of a mandatory protocol on complaints handling, with which all chambers must comply;
The introduction of the protocol as an annex to the Code;
Amended guidance and advice on complaints handling for chambers;
The introduction of a training course on complaints handling;
Monitoring of chambers' complaints handling as part of the compliance-monitoring scheme.

The new arrangements will come into effect on 1st May 2008.

Review of the Operation of the Public Access Rules

The Public Access Rules came into effect in July 2004 and allow a barrister, who has undertaken the appropriate training, to be instructed in certain cases directly by a member of the public. When establishing the Rules it was agreed, with the Office of Fair Trading, that their operation would be reviewed after two years. The Standards Committee is undertaking this review.

A working group has been established to undertake the review comprising experienced public access practitioners, a practice manager of a set of chambers which undertakes extensive public access work and an independent lay member.

Updates on the review will be provided on this page.

Consultation Papers

The Committee will consult routinely on issues it is considering. Details of consultation papers can be found in the ‘Consultations’ section.